Light Family Memoir
by CrystalDreams
Summary: AU. Oneshot collection. Cross-posted to AO3. Xavier Light is a college sophomore with promise. But, he's still got a lot of ahead of him, not to mention a lot behind him, as well. Thankfully, he's got a whole slew of others to aid him along the way. The story of the Light family and all the people (and robots) they affect begins to turn the wheels of destiny and fate.
1. Sunrise

Light Family Memoir

Oneshot 1 - Sunrise

Xavier Light was nothing less of a genius.

He got straight A's in almost all his courses (give or take the one or two courses that gave everyone a hard time because of its curriculum), was apart of two or three important clubs, and overall had a positive outlook on things.

Xavier was only a sophomore in college, but he had the potential to be much more than that, even going so far for the chance to graduate early and even be offered jobs to work at some of the biggest businesses in the country- in the _world_ even- upon his graduation.

The 20-year-old really didn't want the fame or the fortune, especially after growing up so humbly. Like his father, he just wanted to make the world a better place with his knowledge of robotics.

A couple of these offers arrived in the mail this sunny morning, causing Xavier to let out an audible sigh. He didn't know how many times he'd have to tell these companies that he was already set on working at his father's company, Light Labs, upon his graduation from the local college he attended. Light Labs was no contender compared to some of the places he'd been offered, but he had reassured his father time and time again that he was set on where he'd work. It wasn't like these offers would expire right away.

After all, the bright student couldn't imagine moving out of his family's four bedroom, 2.5 bath dream anytime soon.

It had originally only been two bedroom, his parents and his own, but with the introduction of three new younger robots that his father and himself considered family, it only seemed right to give them their own rooms.

Xavier closed the front door, taking the remaining mail with him. He put them down only for a second to make himself more presentable by brushing out the creases in his blue shirt and blue sweatpants and brushing his fingers through his short, brushed brown hair before headed into the kitchen, the smell of pancakes filling the air.

In front of the stove stood a young girl in a simple red dress and red dress shoes; her synthetic blonde hair pulled up and out of her way into a bun with a green bow- although he knew she preferred to wear it in a ponytail- and her blue eyes focused on her cooking.

The youngest of the three younger siblings, Roll, was always up early with him, since part of her directive was to clean and serve meals, something that she had become accomplished in. She was sweet and overall kind, but also had an attitude that had developed from dealing with mainly himself and her fraternal twin, Rock.

If anything, Rock kinda reminded of himself when he was younger. Although he never bothered to ask, he wouldn't be surprised if that his father had based his personality of what he remembered of his own child when Xavier was Rock's age.

Rock was next to come downstairs as Xavier sat down at his usual place at the table, his brown hair still a bit messy and his blue eyes a bit droopy, but overall prepared for the day ahead in his usual blue t-shirt and black shorts. He was second youngest of the family, only a little bit older than Roll. He was simular to Roll personality-wise, but for some reason got on her nerves, whether it was his occasional childish nature or just siblings being siblings, Xavier was unsure.

As his younger brother sat down at the table, a robotic red dog came up beside him and laid down his feet. Xavier immediately recognized Rush, the dog that had been given to Rock as a birthday present to his last year. Rush was a loyal companion to Rock in his spare time, when he wasn't helping their father at the lab. Rock kept himself busy with a handheld video game system that all them had received from Dad last Christmas, hoping that would improve their ability to cooperate together.

But at the same time, Mario Kart was not a good game to teach 'cooperation', even if the elder two always teamed up against the younger two.

The letters Xavier found himself going through bored him quickly. They were same old offers, so he simply threw them aside and stared up at the TV stationed on the wall across from him, a news station on it cycling through the regular news.

If there was time, he'd offer up a race in their favorite game, but he didn't want to make either himself or his father late for their own priorities. It could wait until later.

Another set of footsteps came down the stairs, this revealing to the second oldest sibling, only rivaling himself, Blues. His brown short hair, which had only been recently cut from the longer style that he had been originally designed with, was a little more combed back than Rock's, and his eyes, which Xavier and their father knew were blue, just like the others, were covered by the shades he always seem to wear.

X knew there was more to the story, but hadn't bothered to ask. He also seemed to wear the same yellow scarf around his neck that father had bought for him years ago, along with a grey long-sleeved shirt and black pants.

Blues wasn't like the twins, who had been designed for the sole purpose to be his siblings and his father's children, and to assist with either chores around the house or at the lab. He was once a combat robot prototype, created when Xavier was only 10. Back then, Light Labs didn't have a lot of funding as it did now, so the best outcome was to receive funding from the government in return to build robots for the military. After that plan fell through, however, father retired his prototype's armor and weaponry, creating his first robotic son.

Blues, of course, needed a new directive of some sort, so father put Blues in charge of watching over the house and Roll so she could focus on cleaning. He also occasionally helped out at the lab if need be.

Finally, their father came down, just as breakfast was laid out. A humble, pacifistic man, he led Light Labs with pride. He hardly ever shaved his beard, as if it was apart of him. X couldn't remember the last time he had, nor could he remember the last time seeing his father in some type of semi-formal clothing. When was the last time the family had even taken a formal vacation, he couldn't help but wonder, though Xavier knew it had been some time.

A pile of pancakes, along with plenty of healthy toppings, lied on the counter next to three blue cans of special chemicals, an energy tank, or E tank, as it was sometimes called. The three robots took up the energy tanks while him and his father took pancakes. Xavier prefered keeping it simple; some strawberries, bananas, and syrup on top, but the options were always left out if he wanted to experiment. That and a glass of juice seemed to do the trick.

Conversation was light, but nobody seemed to mind as the faint noise of the TV playing in the background and natural noises of movement or things outside kept the room from being overwhelmingly quiet. When someone decided to talk to another, it was usually on the topic of school or work. Leisure was the last things on their mind, as a whole day was ahead of them.

After breakfast finished up, Dad and Rock departed first, needing to get to work. There was a project they were working on together with the rest of the company, but it was so hush-hush that neither of them would tell any of the siblings about it. They'd still know before the general public, that was for sure.

X got up from the table a few moments after he heard the door slam behind them, and grabbed his backpack, waving goodbye to Blues and Roll before heading out to the public bus stop to catch a ride to the college campus.

That was how it was every morning, and there was never a doubt in his mind about it.

* * *

The bedroom was almost pitch black, illuminated by a candle lit at Xavier's bedside, its fragrance making the room smell fresh. He held the custom picture frame in his hands, staring at both the silly decorations and the picture inside of the frame. The picture was a simple family photo, taken years ago. Both his father and mother stood behind a 6-year-old version of himself, which could almost be mistaken for Rock if one didn't see that the child in the photo had green eyes, much like Xavier himself.

He hardly remembered his mother, dying from a long period of struggling from illness when he was 8. He loved her regardless, as so did father. They couldn't forget the woman who kickstarted their dreams.

The frame went back on the night stand, and with a single blow, the candle flickered out, encasing the room in black as X fell asleep soon after.


	2. Family Trouble

Light Family Memoir

Oneshot 2 - Family Trouble

* * *

A/N: Minor mentions of abuse, but nothing more than just a mention that Zack's parents aren't the best of influences.

* * *

Five knocks, two door bell rings, and both scratching and barking from Rush at the front door finally brought Xavier to it on this one Saturday morning.

Dad and Rock had already gone to work, and Roll had taken Blues with her to shop for groceries, leaving him to sleep in without any disruptions. Until now.

As he went for the doorknob, an itching feeling told him it wasn't probably one of them who had just forgotten a key to get back inside, and that feeling had been right. Outside the door, stood his childhood best friend with lengthy blonde hair and a ticked off expression on his face, Zack.

"Hey Zero," X greeted a bit nervously, using his childhood nickname which they still used commonly, "Everything okay?"

"...Do you mind if I stay here?" This caught X off-guard. He spent almost all of his hours at home taking care of his younger brother in-between his training to become a police officer. At that moment, he thought he wanted to move in for some reason, but quickly shook it off, trying not to jump to conclusions.

Besides, he didn't see any luggage anywhere or anything like that.

"Like…" He tried to get the other to elaborate.

"Just for a few hours. Just until I… calm down." Something must've happened at home, X figured. He was no stranger that his family wasn't exactly the kindest of people, and Zack had spent way more time with the Light family then Xavier ever had with Zack's.

"Alright, come on in, then." He motioned for him to step inside as he followed instruction with a thankful nod. Rush, who had been fussy before, sat happily beside X, wagging his tail and following Zero with his digital optics. "Everyone's out doing stuff, so it's just you and me."

"That's good." With an almost silent mutter, he added as a tip, "I don't really wanna be bothered about what happened at the moment."

"Will do," Xavier responded, whether he was supposed to or not. Zack didn't seem to care either way.

They headed into the living room and situated themselves on the plush couch. Zero, after boredly looking around the room and staring at the floor, pulled his smartphone out and X could only suppose with all the scrolling and occasional tapping he was doing, he was most likely looking at social media.

Or, he could be reading fanfiction for all he knew. X really didn't have a clue what Zero did on his phone, nor did he ever bother to glance over. It was his business, after all, and he had enough people intruding into his life as it was.

As X grabbed his handheld gaming device and turned it on, Zack's phone rang. He quickly shut it up by what Xavier supposed was the 'decline' button. He had a feeling they weren't calling to apologize.

Zack looked like he wanted to throw his phone as his phone as it beeped with a text not long after due to his negligence to answer the call. A few times, actually. His face was tensed up into a scowl and he was gripping his phone in such a manner that could crush it instead of throwing it if it was more flimsy.

Neither, however, would be wanting to explain to Xavier's dad about why the TV was busted or the wall was dented, nor did he have the money to pay for another one, regardless if it was a moderately priced phone.

The room grew quiet, and as X waited for the game to load the next part of the game, he glanced over at Zero. He could tell the silence of the room was killing him. X went to speak, but before he could say anything, his friend met his eyes and spoke up

"My parents want to move Bass in with my uncle."

Though friends and business partners with Xavier's father, both the children of the Wily family and the Light family weren't exactly the most comfortable around Dr. Albert Wily, but it was more specifically Zero and his younger brother, Bass, who had to deal with him. Though obviously uncomfortable, at the very least the Light family respected their father and his relationship, as Dr. Light had hope in him.

X knew the same didn't apply for the other two.

"You really care about him, don't you?"

Zero ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. I dunno why though, I hated him when I was younger. But, I guess I just don't want him to go through the same he…" His voice trailed off, and then a pause, avoiding the harsh language he almost slipped out.

X was used to language by now, and probably wouldn't be as harsh on him as his dad would be, but Zero refrained from it nowadays for both the youngest Light children's innocence and to put up a good example for Bass.

He continued, changing his wording. "...stuff I went through."

"Yeah. You don't want to see him turn out like the rest of your family." He only nodded in response.

"I've just done so much for him and I feel like I've made progress of making him a better person. But if he really does move in my uncle, one of the people I swore not to see ever again…" Zero didn't even have to finish the thought for X to get what he was saying.

Bailey, Bass's real name before adopting the nickname after their childhood names, was still only a kid at the age of 9, around the same age Rock and Roll had been designed to be. His mind could still be molded in either the right or wrong direction, unlike his younger siblings who were pretty much bound by their programming.

X had a feeling that if Bass moved out of his parents' house, who for some reason still put up with Zero, and into Wily's, who Zero had a huge falling out with a few years back, it was possible that Zero wouldn't get enough impact on Bass while he was still moldable.

Bass could still have positive interaction at school, but knowing that he was already having a disciplinary issue at school, both knew it wasn't likely.

"I don't know if you want to tell Dad and the others about all of it, but we're here for you."

"I dunno yet. But, thanks." A small smile appeared on his face, causing X to smile back. All he needed was to vent and know someone, somewhere was willing to help in any way they could. In this case, it was X and the rest of the Light family. "You've always been like a second family to me. I don't know where I'd be without you guys."

"Probably in a gang or something, that long hair of yours waving in the wind as you ride your motorcycle," X joked. Zero couldn't help but imagine it and laugh. The mood changed quickly.

"My hair can wave in the wind on my bike without being in a gang." He retaliated with a smirk.

"Says the guy who always ties his hair up and wears a helmet while riding one." Zero jokingly looked offended.

"You only know it's to keep it out of my face." He commented, X obviously aware. "And safety first, right?"

At that moment, the door swung open. Roll rushed down the hall with groceries, yelling, "I'm making lunch!", making X wonder if she had noticed them. Blues came in moments later and walked into the open living room.

Cocking a brow, he questioned, "Why is Zack here?"

Zack took a deep breath, and responded. "It's… complicated."

"Family issues?" Blues surprisingly read him like a open book, but it wasn't so much of a surprise when Xavier thought about it. He'd been around for some of the earlier issues that Zack had as a young teenager.

The twins had been introduced later, and by then, they were both wrapped up in high school, X himself in academics, clubs, and the occasional helping hand at his father's lab, and Zero in his own academics and athletics, having little time to hang out.

Luckily, Zero avoided a lot of issues with his parents in those years, but most of them that happened pertained to Bass and how he was raised.

"Yeah. I'll talk about it more later, I suppose." Blues nodded understandably as X felt relieved. He was lucky to have a understanding family.

Roll popped her head through the open frame. "Will you stick around for lunch, Zero?"

"Yes," He gave a charming smile, "I'd love to."

"Great," And with that, she was off, back to the kitchen.

"I'll help Roll," followed Blues as he left the room as well.

Distant talking and noises filled the once silent house. After a moment of silence between them, Zack spoke up with a smile on his face.

"Hey, X?"

"What is it?" X wondered what he had to say, smiling as well.

"I'm glad we became friends all those years ago."

Almost like a flashback, the memory of their first meeting faintly played in his mind. He wondered if Zero ever did the same.

He glanced over at an old picture hanging on the wall, one of both of them at the lab one day after they had officially met at the same lab all those years ago. X looked back at his best friend, who was staring at him with anticipation to respond.

"Me too, Zero. Me too."


	3. Finals

Light Family Memoir

Oneshot 3 - Finals

12:52 am.

It was an unusually late time for the youngest of the Light family, Roll, but there was plenty that she had to do. She had promised to get to bed earlier when Rock had told her to try to get some sleep soon, but _soon_ had already passed. That had been a few hours ago.

Regardless on how late it really was, she could retire to her own bedroom for the night without bothering anyone. The only ones in the house who shared a room was Rock and Blues, respectively.

However, something caught her eye after she climbed up the stairs to the second residential floor.

A light faintly glowed under the door of one of the rooms… Xavier's bedroom, to be exact.

At first, her logic programming simply wrote it off that he must've fell asleep with the light on. After all, he was in college and she knew how difficult it was. But the clicking of keys on a keyboard cued her in otherwise… and then it came to her.

Her processing turned towards the internal clock inside of her. This week… was very crucial to X's education.

It was dead week, a week without any classes, but in return, harsh studying and term papers due throughout the week.

Roll knew as well as anyone else that X didn't make a big deal about his late night work, but it showed in the morning when he bothered to get up with the rest of the family. When X had done that in freshman year, both her and Rock had made him go back to bed, with _eventual_ success.

They weren't _just_ family; they were designed to care for one another, but more importantly, the humans of the household.

Instead of going to bed as she should've, her energy levels dropping a little lower than she usually let them, she walked up to the door and knocked.

"Come in," came a call from the other side of the door. Roll complied and opened the door to Xavier's bedroom. His eyes were focused on the screen, his fingers typing away, though every so often, she noticed, he'd have to hold down the backspace to delete a line or two that he didn't like. However, he could still see her out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, Roll. I thought you would've been asleep by now."

"I had a lot to make up," she responded, "and I was just about to head to bed now, but…"

Xavier sighed and pulled his hands off the keyboard. His office chair swiveled to the side to face her.

"But you won't go to bed until you know my well-being is fine," X assumed. He had been aware of the programming that was installed into the newer generation of the family for a while now, but especially when they had pushed him around the same time last year.

"Yes." A basic response, but it was all she needed to say. A nervousness squirmed inside of her as she had a feeling she would reject any request to go to bed, or at the very least, take a nap.

The eldest sibling shook his head, proving her fears to be true. "I can't go to bed until I finish this term paper. It's due at midnight…" X looked at the time on his laptop for a moment, "tonight, I guess."

She could hear him softly mutter "is it Wednesday already…?", but made no effort to make any response to that.

For a moment, she stood still, trying to find a resolve in the situation, X staring to wait for any further protest. She knew X wouldn't go to bed willingly, and there wasn't much other choice as other methods were blocked by either protective laws or her own mortality matrix.

Only one solution came to mind that would put her care programming at ease.

"I'll stay up with you then. That way, I can continuously monitor you and aid you with anything you might need in order to reduce time spent away from your work."

X opened his mouth to object, but nothing came out as he shut it again. He thought for a moment and then sighed heavily, seemingly giving in her demands. "I'd rather you get the recharge you need, but if that's what you have to do…"

"And _I_ would rather see _you_ get some sleep," Roll retorted, "but obviously I can't make that happen."

X smiled and shook his head again. "Yes, I guess you're right." A pause, then, "Some coffee would be nice."

With a nod, she left the room and headed back downstairs to make some coffee without bothering to turn on any lights to draw anyone else from their slumber.

After the coffee machine was loaded and activated, making its humming noise, she leaned across the counter island and rested her eyes for only a moment.

Her energy levels luckily wouldn't reach critical for a while, but she couldn't help but wonder if she'd be able to stay up long enough. X didn't need the distraction of having to come find her drained body while he was just as busy with the term paper.

A yawn escaped her lips; an adapted sign of tiredness more than a need for oxygen.

"...What are you doing awake?"

Her eyes opened wide as she jumped. Roll peered into the darkness to see someone sitting at the dining room table, and after processing for a moment, she knew it was her older brother, Blues.

"You scared me," Roll admitted, "I didn't know you were down here."

"I…" Blues paused for a moment, trying to formulate the right words. "...have trouble sleeping sometimes. Like tonight."

"Insomnia?" She questioned back.

"Yeah." She could see him adjust himself in his chair. "I… must admit, though, I'm not quite sure what's causing it."

"Maybe you could ask Dr. Light about it."

A period of silence made Roll uneasy, but finally he responded. "...Maybe."

It was almost a sign of mistrust, something that concerned her, but the coffee machine stopped humming before she could even get a single word out to inquiry about it. X came first in this situation, and the youngest knew that if Blues had a real issue, he'd bring it up with X or Dr. Light.

Being too nosy was something Roll knew Blues wouldn't appreciate, anyways.

"So, I'm guessing the reason is Xavier, isn't it?" Though it wasn't very clear in the dim light, she gave him the oddest look.

"How did you know?"

"Saw his light on in his bedroom," he replied, "he always lights a candle or two before bed to read or whatever. _Never_ leaves his light on, even if he's really tired."

Roll started to doubt what she knew about X, but reasons came around to refute the doubt. Blues had been around longer than her, so of course he knew more. Not to mention she was almost always in bed before the elder two siblings were sound asleep.

"Is it the candles next to his picture of his family before we came along?" The mental image came to her like she had seen plenty of times while she was cleaning. The house never changed much, other than for upcoming holidays.

She had always wondered what his mother- maybe even _her_ mother, considering on how comfortable X and Dr. Light were with the three androids- was like, but never bothered to ask.

"Yeah, that's it." Roll could faintly see Blues nod.

"I guess it _would_ be obvious then." She picked up the coffee mug, the hot temperature of the coffee running in her fingerprints. It would typically cause a reaction in a human to let go of it, but in her case, the temperature was no harm to her.

"'Night, Blues," she said goodbye, in case she wouldn't see him until morning.

"G'night, sis," came a simple reply as she headed out of the downstairs kitchen and back upstairs to the bedroom.

The door quietly moved open as she turned the doorknob and pushed over the carpet flooring until the door was wide enough for her to fit through.

The coffee tapped down quietly onto the desk, trying not to disturb his concentration, but to no use, he seemed drawn towards her and the coffee.

"Thanks, Roll," and with proper gratitude expressed, X took a sip before Roll could warn him of how hot it was… and burned his tongue.

"I was about to warn you it was hot, if you would've just waited a moment," she informed him with a hint of sass in her voice.

"Sorry, Roll," the elder brother apologized, "I guess I'm prone to those kind of thoughtless mistakes when I'm tired."

"Which is why you should go to bed," a retort came back.

"I'll go to bed in a little bit, then." He seemed to resolve finally to her demands.

But like just how she had said that she would go to bed soon, that 'little bit' turned into a half hour… an hour… and so on. After the first 30 minutes, she told him to get some rest again, only to be told something similar. By the hour, she gave in and went back to assisting him stay on task.

3:32 am was the time when X finally finished his paper and crashed into bed. He was asleep in no time flat, the caffeine finally failing him. And at that time she crashed as well into her own bedroom.

Needless to say, the next day was taken easy by the both of them after the long night.


	4. Troublemakers

Light Family Memoir

Oneshot 4 - Troublemakers

A/N - This introduces a minor OC (though I suppose I could've used someone from canon, I just don't know who exactly) that'll help with Bass and assist on some chapters later down the road, including the beginning of one multi-chapter arc that'll introduce soon enough. Essentially, it'll just be a few closely-connected chapters that'll introduce some new information and new characters. (For the story, anyways. *cough*)

If you want more of a hint, let's just say I've decided to make Zero more than just a police officer…

Also, mentions of foul language because I'm nowhere edgy enough to use actual words. Which I'm okay with, honestly. Also more mentions of their parents in a little more detail. One of these chapters I'll go without mentioning them at all, I swear.

* * *

Bailey had the worst of friends. And until tonight, his older brother had no clue that he was even associated with them.

It was later in the evening, when all traffic was starting to come to its usual night slow in the big city. The five boys- one being the ringleader of this stunt they decided to pull, the other four, that included Bass himself, being followers- were out in front of a family-owned business of which one of their whiny classmates belonged to.

Needless to say, they weren't waiting around for the store to open up the next morning.

Scattered around their feet were spray cans, ready to be used on the building without any kind of legal permission, and _definitely_ not in a attractive way like real artists did.

Bass, of course, was having some doubts, unlike the others.

"I dunno about this. I don't think they deserves this," he spoke up at last.

"What are you," retorted the leader, who was much older than Bass and another boy of the same age as Bass, "a baby?" The others made mocking crying noises and flicked their wrists in front of their face, their fists curled up to imitate the rubbing of eyes to further drive the point home.

"No… It's just that-" He tried to reason, but one of the other teens butted in.

"Dude, you're growing soft as of late. Is that big brother of yours really making you change?"

"I'm not going soft-" His voice rose as another teen interrupted.

"Yes you are. I thought you were the 'Almighty Bass'."

"I am!" Bass growled. He was clearly getting aggravated, the boys knowing that it was the easiest to rope him into their little 'game' when he was. The kid his age piped up.

"Then why don't you show us?!"

"I will!" At last he broke, and was the first to pick up the dumped cans and spray something obscene on the wall, something that shouldn't be used by an elementary student.

The others cheered and joined in as well, writing their own slew of offensive words. The cans were quickly dropped almost as soon as they were picked up, but there was plenty to go around.

These actions were beyond foolish to suppose they could just get away with it.

Sirens and even the distant red-and-blue lights moving closer and closer down the street cued it was time to run. All the boys dropped their cans and made a mad dash away from the cars.

The boys ran in almost unison as a small pack, all except Bass, who was a few paces behind.

As they started to head across a street not far from the crime scene, one of the squad cars had caught up to them and took a hard right, breaking at one of the intersections right as the grouping of boys ran past and cut Bass right off from the rest.

The rest of the group didn't bother to look back.

The police stepped out of the car, and Bailey, in surrender of the sudden consciousness that finally kicked in, raised his hand above his head without behind asked.

He went willingly into the back seat and was taken into custody, unlike the rest of the boys, who escaped but deserved to be taken in more than the mislead kid they were fortunate enough to bring in.

* * *

Today had been a long day.

First, Zero had to take an overly-apologetic Xavier to the campus after his alarm didn't go off. Next, his parents made him do some errands for them, though he doubted they couldn't have waited. Both the grocery store and the laundromat were open well after his parents got out of work. Finally, he had to help X again with an oil leak down in his father's personal lab at the house before his dad could get home.

At the very least, they let him stay for dinner.

However, he expected his long day to end right then and there, especially as soon as he got home.

As the car cruised down the streets back to his house, his phone suddenly rang out a familiar little jingle. It was from some show his little brother liked and so he picked it up as a ringtone to identify when he was calling.

Zack picked up the phone as quickly as he could and greeted, "Hello?"

Bass's voice didn't come through the line, cueing him in on something more was going on. Instead, an older man's voice returned.

"Hello. Is this Zack Wily speaking?"

"It… is." He hesitated, and then realized why there was someone else on the line. Bass had _really_ done it this time. "Did by any chance my little brother do something… reckless?"

"Illegal, even." The voice returned. Zack felt sickly nervous. "I'm Deputy Mack Ross with the local police department. Would you mind coming in for a few questions?"

"S...Sure." He was never quite nervous as he was now, but this was the first time Bass had been in any legal trouble.

"I'm glad to tell you that once you answer some questions, you and Bailey are welcome to go home. Both us at the department and the family involved in the incident have dropped charges on him."

An audible sigh of relief escaped his lips. "I'll be right over, then."

* * *

Deputy Mack Ross was an older man, probably in his middle-to-late 40's, if Zack wasn't being fooled by a younger look. He was, of course, rather fit and even visibly muscular. Deputy Ross's brown, greying hair was cut short, and his pale face was rather angular. Other than that, he was about standard issue as the rest of the police force with his blue uniform.

He was standing next to the metallic table that his younger brother was sitting at with a reassuring smile. After Zack thanked the other officer who had led him to the questioning room, Deputy Ross motioned for him to sit down in the seat next to Bailey.

Getting a closer look at Bass now, he saw the redness of his face and in his eyes. He had been crying. Zero gently rubbed his brother's arm, responded by a look over and even a soft smile, though obviously still strained.

"Though I do admit not talking to all the boys involved in the incident is a bit of a downfall on our part, having at least one of them with an obvious consciousness is enough. With his help, we were able to get ahold of the other boys involved."

" _Other_ boys?" Zero raised an eyebrow, glancing at both of them, though primarily at Bass.

"Three high school and two elementary school students," Mack responded, "Bailey included. From what I understand, the other elementary student is his classmate, and the leader of their little 'gang' is his older brother." He looked over at Bass. "Right?"

He nodded in response, and quietly added for Zack, "They kinda… roped me into it."

Zack stared concernedly at Bass before questioning further. "And the other high schoolers are friends of the leader, I'm guessing?"

"It seems so," Mack confirmed.

Zack's mind was swimming at this point. The very fact that he was hanging out with boys clearly older than him made him a bit sick, as they were obviously taking advantage of him. Whether it was just to get more manpower behind their operations, silently laughing at getting him angry, or take the blame like he had tonight, it was unclear.

Whatever the case, it wasn't for a wholesome purpose.

"I did try, however, to contact your parents before Bailey told me to contact you. Any comments on that?" Zack shifted nervously in his seat, and he swore Bailey did as well. It _sounded_ like something they'd do, however.

"They're not quite… keen on police enforcement, officer." Zack spoke up. "As for why… it's a personal matter."

The officer looked suspicious at this point. "I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate."

A sigh, and then, "Our parents hardly teach us what's right or wrong because they just don't care, and when they actually do seem to care, they yell at us, especially when we don't meet up to their expectations. I was turning out like Bailey when I was a kid, and I've been trying to break that like one of my friends and his family did for me. It doesn't help that they act so innocent when others are around."

"They freaking _suck,_ " Bass added.

Officer Ross looked interested. "So _that's_ why you went off the other day."

It took for a moment for Zack to remember, but then it hit him.

"Wait. You were there at the cadet school when I…" His voice suddenly faded out. "...when I let my anger get the best of me."

"You were mad at your parents that day, weren't you?" Mack assumed perfectly.

"...Yeah. We got off on the wrong foot as I got ready and I took all of that with me to class…"

"...And let it all out on one of the other cadets." A nervous feeling rose in Zack's chest, afraid of being told off for his actions that day and judged for his actions. He had already received a stern talk from the commanding officer. But, the opposite happened. "If you need any help, please, I'd like to help you."

Bass and Zero stared for a good minute. It wasn't often, if not impossible, for get anyone to believe them. Their parents, when keeping up an act, said they just had "attitude issues", but it was much more than just that. Nobody ever questioned them because they didn't feel a need to get involved, or, if anything, their parents were persuasive enough.

But things were different today. Zack was an adult now, and Bailey obviously had more than an issue with just his attitude, so for once, someone saw it for what it truly was.

With a deep breath, Zero answered for the both of them. "Yes. We'd like any help we can get."

Numbers were exchanged between their phones, and then they were escorted out of the questioning room.

Finally, Bass mustered up an apology on the drive home. "I'm sorry."

"I forgive you. It's okay."

And they knew it was better than okay, because things were starting to change for the better.


End file.
